Episode 339

[Skeleton]

Miura's comment, provided by IncantatioN and translated by puella:

From my new workplace, we can see Comiket. "Swarms of people..." (⬛ Д ⬛)

That's so cool!  Can you imagine you just happen to look up/over and see Miura and his assistants looking at you?   

[Griffith]

That's so cool!  Can you imagine you just happen to look up/over and see Miura and his assistants looking at you?   

[Judo]

Another great episode, there... Rickert(and maybe Daiba) going with Silat to the secret hideout of the Bakiraka... this opens up so many new exciting possibilities.

The dimwits that complain about the pacing most likely confuse the release schedule with plot progression.
I myself consider it a great expierience to be able to follow a multi-layered, epic tale like this and see it unfold over the years.

[Sarcomere]

I did: Katars with blades that also fire as projectiles.

Or maybe a repeating crossbow that fires chakrams instead of arrows.

There was also that Bakiraka woman back in episode 58 who used some sort of explosive/combustible down in the tunnels. That combined with Rickert's experience crafting explosives could make for some pretty devastating weapons, maybe even enough to knock out some weaker apostles.

[JMP]

Comiket sounds like quite the big event! http://en.japantravel.com/view/going-to-comiket

[Vixen Comics]

wow, in just a few episodes Rickert has bounced himself right into the thick of things, when I had thought he would stay in the background. I really appreciate the conviction Miura has given Rickert to honor his fallen comrades and call Giffith out on what he did. (Did Griffith actually genuinely think that Rickert would have accepted his offer?! The fact that he seemed just a touch saddened/affected by his rejection is the most interesting thing of all.) I never thought that Rickert would just say "what the helll...I guess I'll join your new band of the hawk..." but there was always the fear that he might. I love the quite integrity Miura has given Rickert. I am glad  he is going to  with Silat, I have become such a fan of Silat over the years and his performance in his episode wowed me.  I cannot wait to see how Rickert and Silat are going to mesh together.

Rakshas has not been my favorite apostle, since I thought the other Neo Falcons have been a lot more interesting. Basically i have found him weird in a mildly off putting kind of way but my opinion has definitely changed  over the course of this episode. Oh my goodness, I have imagined what he must look like under his mask but to be basically faceless took me by pleasant surprise. I had the impression that he was perhaps born disfigured or something or had at least suffered some kind of facial injury that held over after he became an apostle. I can't wait to see what he comes up with for a new mask.

I guess I could not have picked a better time to get into Berserk, since a lot of story-lines that have been building for years seems like they are  at the point of being revealed. I may be proven wrong in the next episode, but I am in the camp that believes that Griffith did not order this attack on Rickert and that Rakshas is acting on his own.

[Rezin]

Fantastic episode. Very interested in how the escape from Falconia will work out, and seeing what Rakshas' new mask looks like.
Something grabbed my attention in regards to his old mask though.
Here's a shot of it from this episode prior to Silat cutting it in half.
http://i.imgur.com/Cq5ri8x.png
Notice the two familiar black droplet shapes.
Now the detailed close up of it being split in half. No droplets.
http://i.imgur.com/nFfkVui.png

Sure we could assume a chunk of the mask broke off, but it would be a pretty big one all things considered.
http://i.imgur.com/RqsFuIK.png
And when we see them again, the two halves look relatively evenly split.
http://i.imgur.com/uM4ilEt.png
http://i.imgur.com/JaBJwXA.png

Normally I'd say the droplets were left out because there wasn't enough room for detail or the figure was far away, but they are absent from scenes where the mask is either in full clear view or at a distance where they would be somewhat visible.
Hell they're even noticeable on SK's own mini Rakshas 
I just can't imagine a way for the mask to appear split apart in the panels we've seen and not have at least some remaining black marks.
Am I reading too much into this or what?

[JMP]

Notice the two familiar black droplet shapes.
Now the detailed close up of it being split in half. No droplets.

Good eye, Rezin! I guess I must have been so busy being shocked by the mask getting broken and all the action happening that I didn't notice that. It's very interesting. Those two dark markings are there as long as Rakshas is inhabiting the mask, but as soon as it's vacant of his presence they've disappeared. The only thing I can think is that the markings have something to do with his spiritual energy being within the mask, something his consciousness causes to be visible on its surface somehow. 
Or maybe the markings represent some type of magic spell that was broken when the mask was split in half.

[Walter]

I just can't imagine a way for the mask to appear split apart in the panels we've seen and not have at least some remaining black marks.
Am I reading too much into this or what?

No I think you were right to point it out. Certainly escaped my attention. I've done some sloppy Photoshop lasso + rotation to join the two halves, and it does appear to be a pretty clean cut:




But I'm still not convinced that it wasn't merely an oversight by Miura to not include those markings (it's sure a strange thing to overlook, though. The  mask design is very distinctive). Otherwise, the implication of the droplets not being there is difficult to make sense of. Perhaps it's one of the things he'll revise when it's collected in volume form.

[JMP]

Otherwise, the implication of the droplets not being there are difficult to make sense of.

It's actually got me wondering if we might be seeing some backstory about Rakshas soon that may shed some light on a lot of things, mask included.  I'd be loving that, so I hope so!

Here's my crazy theory: The mask was a punishment that Rakshas' clan made him wear as an outward sign of his shame, kind of like a scarlet letter or something. Maybe what Silat said about a taboo was in reference to that, he was surprised that Rakshas was still abiding by that punishment by wearing the mask, even now. Maybe when the mask was broken, especially by the hand of the clan's current leader, it broke some kind of curse that had been placed upon it which caused the markings to disappear.
I'm not saying I think Silat had been the one to punish Rakshas, but maybe one of his ancestors did.

As to why Rakshas would like the mask if it was a punishment, maybe he felt that even though it originally had negative connotations, it was a tie to his identity and past. Or it might be like a badge of honor to him somehow, like he turned something that was meant to be bad into something he owned and took pride in.

[Walter]

Here's my crazy theory: The mask was a punishment that Rakshas' clan made him wear as an outward sign of his shame, kind of like a scarlet letter or something. Maybe what Silat said about a taboo was in reference to that, he was surprised that Rakshas was still abiding by that punishment by wearing the mask, even now. Maybe when the mask was broken, especially by the hand of the clan's current leader, it broke some kind of curse that had been placed upon it which caused the markings to disappear.

Wow that is pretty bonkers.  I feel like if it were going to be something that elaborate, there would have been more attention drawn to the fact that they had disappeared.

[JMP]

Wow that is pretty bonkers.  I feel like if it were going to be something that elaborate, there would have been more attention drawn to the fact that they had disappeared.

Yup, a bit of wild speculating.  I was just having some fun thinking about possibilities.

[Rezin]

Interesting theories, JMP.

The mask was a punishment that Rakshas' clan made him wear as an outward sign of his shame, kind of like a scarlet letter or something.

I was thinking something along these lines, but instead of the entire mask I wagered that the two black droplets were what marked him as a traitor. That would be why they disappeared while the mask remained, they're connected to him physically or something. As for their appearance, they resemble black blood drops. Killed too many of his own maybe?
Wonder if they'll pop up on his new mask, though if they do that could just be attributed to having some consistency in his design. 

But I'm still not convinced that it wasn't merely an oversight by Miura to not include those markings (it's sure a strange thing to overlook, though. The  mask design is very distinctive). Otherwise, the implication of the droplets not being there is difficult to make sense of. Perhaps it's one of the things he'll revise when it's collected in volume form.

I think the first thing I'll do when I get the new volume is flip through to this episode and see if there are any changes.
If they're there then that puts an end to our speculation, but if they're not well...only time will tell if its of any importance.
By the way, approximately how many episodes away are we from Vol 38?

[Walter]

By the way, approximately how many episodes away are we from Vol 38?

Between 3-4 more episodes before it can be bound. I expect Vol 38 by March in Japan. December in the US.

[Rezin]

Between 3-4 more episodes before it can be bound. I expect Vol 38 by March in Japan. December in the US.

Wonderful. Just in time for the holidays.

[Aazealh]

Friendly reminder that the episode is available to buy on hakusensha-e.net. We have a step-by-step guide for it!

Something grabbed my attention in regards to his old mask though.
Here's a shot of it from this episode prior to Silat cutting it in half. Notice the two familiar black droplet shapes. Now the detailed close up of it being split in half. No droplets.

Normally I'd say the droplets were left out because there wasn't enough room for detail or the figure was far away, but they are absent from scenes where the mask is either in full clear view or at a distance where they would be somewhat visible.

Am I reading too much into this or what?

Good observation. It's indeed very strange that they would disappear from one panel to the next. I could think of it as a mistake if it weren't on such a prominent panel, and then was still missing on another one. But as it stands... there might more to it than meets the eye. That being said, I'm not sure how that would work or what that would achieve. I guess they could be parts of the cloak that get through via a slit in the mask, but I'm not entirely convinced.

[jackson_hurley]

A bit of topic but this reminds me of one mistake that I spotted in the golden age. When Guts kills Adonis, at the end of the episode his hands hold to sword one way and then at the beginning of the next episode the position changed. A small and pointless detail but still is there. I've never mind it though.

[Sancho]

First post. Hello to everyone!  (And excuse my bad english)
About Daiba i think is not so unlikely that he will join Rickert Erica and the Bakiraka. In volume 31 he states that his wish is to establish a magic empire, which is hardly what Griffith also desire, since magic users can move slightly outside causality. Now in Falconia he seems to have lost all his hopes, and probably if Griffith were to find out that a so powerful wizard lives in his capital, the old man's life would also be in danger. Peraphs having found those new allies will restore his hopes to realize his goal.

Also could it be that this "great magic empire" that he desire is a foreshadowing of the ending. Peraphs at the end the use of magic and the comunication with spirits will be spread all over the world, and humanity will have the true means to resolve all the bad things that happens, instead to rely to the Idea of Evil that they created ( if it's still canon). I remember that also Flora said the humans have forgotten the existence of spirits. We have no evidence of this, but i think it's still an intersting speculation.

[Aazealh]

First post. Hello to everyone!  (And excuse my bad english)

Hello Sancho and welcome!

About Daiba i think is not so unlikely that he will join Rickert Erica and the Bakiraka.

I don't believe anyone said it was unlikely; on the contrary we speculated that he might intervene with the Garuda.

In volume 31 he states that his wish is to fund a magic empire, which is hardly what Griffith also desire, since magic users can move slightly outside causality. Now in Falconia he seems to have lost all his hopes, and probably if Griffith were to find out that a so powerful wizard lives in his capital, the old man's life would also be in danger. Peraphs having found those new allies will restore his hopes to realize his goal.

I think you're getting a few things mixed up here. Daiba's ambition as stated in volume 31 is effectively over, no matter how you look at it. It's been both superseded by Fantasia and crushed by the end of Ganishka's rule. Yet I think you're wrong to say Griffith's rule is incompatible with it. After all, the God Hand and apostles use a form of magic, and Ganishka's own supernatural troops were in fact powered by that sort of magic. The Kundalini was the lone exception. Of course, that's not to say Daiba would be welcomed by Griffith or anything of the sort (although I wouldn't call him a powerful wizard), but let's not forget who unleashed Fantasia in the first place.

As for the Bakiraka, they're about as antimagic as you can find. They train their bodies to the extreme and rely on their skills to survive, and did not join Griffith precisely to avoid serving under a inhuman being again. All of that to say that it would be interesting to see how Daiba's skills would be received by the Bakiraka, if he did end up joining them.

Also could it be that this "great magic empire" that he desire is a foreshadowing of the ending. Peraphs at the end the use of magic and the comunication with spirits will be spread all over the world, and humanity will have the true means to resolve all the bad things that happens, instead to rely to the Idea of Evil that they created ( if it's still canon).

I've speculated along those lines in the past. I believe that the use of (elemental) magic might very well be the key to freeing mankind from the clutches of the Idea of Evil (it is still canon).

[JMP]

Hi Sancho! I like your profile pic! 

[Sancho]

Hi Sancho! I like your profile pic! 

Thank you! This is Guts when he's possesed by an aristocrate spectre 

[Judo]

Hello Sancho, welcome to the fold! 

Daibas role in the upcoming events is very interesting indeed. He seems kinda broken and demoralised at this point but the arrival of the Bakiraka has certainly picked his interest.